An-Najah Staff

        This study aimed at identifying the obstacles that face grade 11 IT teachers while teaching the IT curriculum at government schools in Nablus Governorate during the scholastic year 2011 / 2012. The study attempted to identify the obstacles that face the IT curriculum of grade 11, the extent of the differences of obstacles means in every variable of the study (social type, number of years in teaching experience, academic qualifications, academic specialization, and number of courses in IT).

         The study sample (n. 88 teachers) consisted of IT teachers in Nablus Governorate during the scholastic year 2011 / 2012. It represented 72% of the study population.

        The study instrument consisted of a 38-item questionnaire prepared by the researcher for the purposes of the study and distributed among the sample members. The items were classified on four main domains of obstacles related to: teachers, students, teaching content, and teaching environment. The questionnaire validity was confirmed by a 9-member committee of arbitrators. The consistency coefficient (0.93) was calculated for the whole questionnaire by using the Cronbach's alpha formula.

        The study outcomes showed that the mean of the obstacles faced by IT school teachers for the teaching content domain was 3.74 (high); for students domain, 3.70 (high); for teaching environment circumstances domain, 3.1 (medium); for teacher domain, 2,95 (low). In addition, the study outcomes showed that there were no significant differences at (a = 0.05) between the means of obstacles faced by IT school teachers attributed to the variables of social type, and the number of IT courses attended by IT teachers. The outcomes also showed significant differences in obstacles means attributed to the variable of number of years in teaching experience in favor of less than 2 years, the academic qualification in favor of diploma, and academic qualification in favor of another specialization.

        In light of the study outcomes, the researcher recommended that it is necessary to modify the curriculum in order to take in consideration the students' scientific and practical background, to satisfy the developments in this field, to connect it with the students' real lives. The curriculum must also be reconsidered to match the number of periods with its content so that IT teachers could finish the curriculum efficiently. All schools must be supplied with adequate numbers of computers with appropriate specifications and maintenance and upgraded to keep up with the rapid developments in technology and computer specifications